Chicago-based illustrator Diana Sudyka paints folk-inspired works that feature her subjects in the great outdoors. Her elegant images are partially silhouetted, and she uses their solid coloring as a stage for the beautifully-drawn patterning and details that adorn their bodies. Sudyka wraps them in branches and leaves, dots them with stars, and introduces them to the ghostly animals who are scampering by. It allows her to craft a rich story about the dark figures and their colorful additions.
Sudyka also adds special, hand-lettered phrases to her paintings, and these short and poetic statements create another layer of intrigue to the artist’s work. “They let themselves be swept away with it all,” is just one of the romantic sentiments that you’ll find in her illustrations. The dreamy, fantastic nature of Sudyka’s small worlds encourages us to get out and explore our own.
